Yoruichi Shihōin
Yoruichi Shihōin (四楓院 夜一, Shihōin Yoruichi) is the former captain of the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13, as well as the former commander of the Onmitsukidō. Having abandoned her command of both positions, she works with Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi, based in the Urahara Shop out in the Human World. AppearanceEdit Yoruichi Shihōin is a slender, dark-skinned woman of average height, with golden-colored eyes and long purple hair,2 which she keeps up in a ponytail.3 Her standard attire consists of a black, backless, sleeveless undershirt, an orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder, a large beige sash around her waist,4 and black stretch pants with a pair of lightweight brown shoes,5 which allow for stealth and easy use of Shunpo.6 She previously wore a beige neck warmer, which she pulled up to cover her face in order to hide her identity, but seems to have forgone its use.7 She occasionally wears long beige wrist and leg warmers, each secured by bands.8 She, unlike any other known Shinigami, can transform into a small black cat for long periods of time. In this form, she has a distinctive male voice and golden eyes. 9 110 years ago, during her time as a captain, she wore the same sleeveless and backless Onmitsukidō uniform, with long black wrist guards which Suì-Fēng wears now, but had a black ribbon tied around her neck.1011 She wore a long-sleeved captain's''haori''. Her hair was much shorter, cut in a style similar to Suì-Fēng's current hairstyle, but without the braids.1012 At some point prior to this, she wore the white Onmitsukidō uniform of the correction corps.13 PersonalityEdit Yoruichi is intelligent and witty, holding an intimate knowledge of Soul Society and its workings, as she was the former leader of the Onmitsukidō and the Second Division's captain. Although of noble birth, she acts differently from most other nobles, very much like Kaien Shiba. For instance, she instructed Suì-Fēng to refer to her without using honorific suffixes, but reluctantly settled for being called "Yoruichi-sama" ("Lady Yoruichi" in the dub). On several occasions, she transforms into her Human form directly in front of Ichigo just to see his reaction to seeing her naked, which she teases him about. In addition, she speaks in a dialect used by elders, such as identifying herself as "washi" (a term usually used by old men to define themselves with), instead of more feminine terms like "watashi", in both her Human and animal forms. While it is unknown how she obtained her cat transformation, she appears to prefer spending most of her time in it. Upon showing her Shinigami form to Ichigo, she forgot to put on clothes, as she had grown used to not needing them; due to being in cat form for so long. She especially takes delight in transforming in front of people to see their shocked reaction, due to her cat form making her sound male.14 Her love for her cat form extends to great anger should someone harm it or insult its appearance, as seen from how upset she got after her tail was damaged.15 Although relatively calm and mature when a situation calls for it, Yoruichi is quite laid-back and playful, often teasing or flirting with those younger than her, such as Ichigo Kurosaki at the underground hot spring, a younger and hot-headed Byakuya Kuchiki,Suì-Fēng before her time as a captain, and Kisuke Urahara, childhood friend, former underling, and fellow ex-captain. Yoruichi prefers to drink milk, which fits with her practice of transforming into a cat.1 HistoryEdit PlotEdit Agent of the Shinigami arcEdit Soul Society arcEdit Bount arc (anime only)Edit Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. Click "show" to read the arc plot. show Arrancar arcEdit One night, while Urahara is standing in front of his shop and displaying concern about what is going on in Karakura Town, Yoruichi approaches him.80 When the Espada Ulquiorra Cifer andYammy Llargo begin to terrorize Karakura Town, Urahara and Yoruichi show up to save Ichigo from Yammy. After Urahara blocks his punch with his Chikasumi no Tate, Yoruichi easily dispatches Yammy, only for the enraged Arrancar to try to attack her from behind as she goes to help an injured Orihime. Yoruichi, turning around, brutally attacks Yammy, literally pounding him into the ground. As Yoruichi goes back to helping Orihime, Yammy gets up, enraged, and attempts to hit her with a point blank Cero, but Urahara counters it with a similar attack to nullify it. When Yammy becomes confused at the concept of this, Urahara, deciding to show off, fires a blast of spiritual energy from his Zanpakutō at Yammy, which is deflected by Ulquiorra with his bare hand. Ulquiorra, incapacitating Yammy for his rash actions and brutishness, proceeds to explain to him who he is fighting. The two Espada return to Hueco Mundo.81 Later, while at Urahara's shop, Yoruichi is shown recuperating from an injured left arm and leg. When Urahara expresses concern about her state, Yoruichi admits she was foolish to fight him without using Shunkō, though she didn't think the Arrancar's skin would be so hard. She confirms the Arrancar are tougher than either she or Urahara had anticipated.82 She appears again to take Orihime Inoue into the training room under Urahara's shop so he may speak to her about the upcoming battle.83 The New Captain Shūsuke Amagai arc (anime only)Edit Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. Click "show" to read the arc plot. show Fake Karakura Town arcEdit When Urahara and Isshin Kurosaki immobilize Aizen, Yoruichi appears, wearing armor on her arms and legs, and attacks Aizen from above. She smashes into his back with such force that it destroys the surrounding area, and lands a direct punch with even more force, causing damage to an entire block. Urahara yells for Yoruichi to move away. Aizen quickly recovers, and before Yoruichi can fully dodge his counterattack, he destroys the armor on Yoruichi's left leg. As Aizen emerges from the rubble with his new form severely cracked, he asks them if this is all they have, stating that they better hurry up and make the next move, as he plans to crush them all, one by one, into tiny fragments, down to the very last remnant.87 When Urahara expresses his surprise at how the armor he created was destroyed by Aizen with one blow, Yoruichi tells him off for not building the armor properly. Urahara warns Yoruichi to keep away as they prepare to face the next attack, but she remarks that she will be fine as long as Aizen does not attack her exposed leg. Aizen's next blow takes her completely by surprise.88 Managing to escape Aizen's assault at the cost of her right arm-guard, Yoruichi complains to Kisuke when he asks if she is alright. She tells him she was able to block the attack because of the "half-finished" armor, but she would have simply dodged it without the armor. After they stop arguing, Kisuke launches a Kidō blast at Aizen. Yoruichi, taking advantage of this, attempts to attack Aizen, but he, anticipating their ploy, blocks her attack. She follows up with a Shunkō assault, knocking him to the ground, but Aizen blocks her next attack. Urahara interrupts by immobilizing Aizen with Benihime.89 Yoruichi, along with Kisuke and Isshin, are defeated by Aizen, who leaves for the Real Karakura Town in Soul Society.90 Zanpakutō Unknown Tales arc (anime only)Edit Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. Click "show" to read the arc plot. show Gotei 13 Invading Army Arc (anime only)Edit Note: Events occurring in this arc are only in the anime and do not constitute canon material. Click "show" to read the arc plot. show The Lost Substitute Shinigami arcEdit When Ichigo regains his powers, he notices Yoruichi's power was used to help restore his own.107 She is seen in her cat form, perched atop Kisuke Urahara's head, when Ichigo returns from Soul Society after collecting Kūgo Ginjō's body.108 The Thousand-Year Blood War ArcEdit During the second Wandenreich invasion, while Ichigo and his friends are preparing to return to the Soul King Palace via a replica of Kūkaku's cannon, Yoruichi appears when Orihime is feeling self-conscious about her new outfit and slaps Ichigo before scolding him for stating Orihime is showing too much, as it is clear she was deceived by a maniac and does not want to wear it. When Urahara welcomes her and asks her what happened, Yoruichi reveals a set of bottles underneath her cloak, prompting Urahara to explain to the others how she joined Hiyori's team and collected the large amount of energy created by closing the distortion between the worlds.109 EquipmentEdit Two of Yoruichi's unique items are accessories which grant the user the power of flight. * A long, beige, bone wand-like artifact, with a small, white, bird-shaped skull, and four protrusions, similar to finger bones, extending from the back of the skull. By channelingReiryoku into the wand, it produces a tentacle, which acts a harness, and a single bat-like wing manifests from the four bone protrusions, which acts as a one-handed hang-glider. No skill or previous experience is required to use it.110 * Tentōken (天踏絢, Heaven-Stepping Adornment): It is a brown mantle, with a large drawstring closure at the collar and a large brooch displaying the Shihōin Clan crest. Like the wand, the Tentōken requires no skill or previous experience to use. It appears to be superior to the wand, since it allows one to hover in mid-air, and does not immobilize one of the user's hands.66 * Anken (暗剣, lit. "Dark Blade"): Small knives which Yoruichi hides in her boots. She can launch them at a target with a swing of her leg.111 * Anti-Hierro Armor: A set of metal gloves and boots, invented by Kisuke Urahara, designed specifically to counter an Arrancar's Hierro during hand-to-hand combat. They are exceptionally durable, protecting the wearer's limbs even during the moment of their destruction.112 Powers & AbilitiesEdit Feline Transformation: Yoruichi possesses the unique ability to shape-shift into a black cat at will. How she alone, out of all Shinigami, is capable of this is currently unknown. She has possessed the ability for well over 100 years, and it is known to others she knew from that time. She apparently has no set time limit on the transformation, as she had been in this form for over 100 years. In cat form, Yoruichi can still channel her spiritual energy and move at incredible speeds, though she is physically limited. Her transformation grants her a complete disguise, as her voice in this form is deep enough to lead most to assume she is a male. 9 Hakuda Master: As former Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi is one of the most accomplished hand-to-hand combatants in Soul Society. Her mastery of the art form is so great, she uses it exclusively as her form of combat, forgoing the use of a Zanpakutō altogether. She took down nearly 50 Onmitsukidō members with only Hakuda.113 She has taken on Espada-level Arrancar, such as when she brutally defeated Yammy, and is regarded by the 4th Espada Ulquiorra Cifer as highly dangerous.114 She fought three Shinigami captains and four lieutenant-level and above opponents at the same time with Hakuda without receiving any notable damage.98 * Taketonbo (竹蜻蛉, "Bamboo Dragonfly"):115 A Hakuda technique which involves a simple, yet effective, throw which suddenly and violently flips an opponent upside down.116 * Raiōken (雷王拳, "Thunder King Fist"):117 A Hakuda technique involving a series of ultra-high-speed punches delivered using both arms. When performing this technique while wearing Anti-Hierro Armor, Yoruichi severely cracked Aizen's first form, destroying the surrounding portion of Karakura Town in the process.118 * Shunkō (Lightning) (瞬閧, Flash War Cry): An advanced technique which combines Hakuda with Kidō. This technique surrounds her back and arms with pressurized Kidō based on the element of lightning. The keisen uniform has no back or sleeves because they will rip apart when it is activated. Apart from enhancing her arms and legs for combat, the technique allows her to instantly neutralize an opponent's movement. The Kidō itself can be controlled and fired at opponents from her body, which creates massive explosions. Yoruichi's version of the technique was developed and studied by her a century ago; therefore, the technique is complete and the compressed Kidō is visible.119 While using this technique, her Reiatsu takes the form of white lightning.120 Expert Swordsman: While preferring to fight her opponents barehanded, during her days as a captain, Yoruichi showed herself to be a highly capable swords-woman, taking down a huge Hollow with a single strike of her sealed Zanpakutō.121 Shunpo Master: Considered to be the most proficient Hohō master ever in all of Soul Society, Yoruichi is highly skilled in the use of Shunpo. Though this is by no means a unique skill, as most seated officers are capable of performing it to various degrees, Yoruichi holds the title "Flash Goddess" (瞬神, shunshin; "Flash Master" in the English version), because she has mastered this ability to the point where she can appear to be in several places at once and wipe out an entire Onmitsukidō squadron in seconds.122 She can easily close tremendous gaps of distance in the blink of an eye while remaining undetected, and can surprise Byakuya, who is one of the most proficient masters in the art as well.123 She has mastered all of the Onmitsukidō's speed-oriented techniques, and has even created some of her own, such as'Utsusemi' (空蝉, Cicada, referencing their molting).124 The full extent of her abilities remain unclear, but she was able to outrun Byakuya while carrying an unconscious Ichigo over her shoulder, performing around 300 steps before feeling tired from being 100 years out of practice. Suì-Fēng could barely keep up with her while Yoruichi was still holding back. She can still perform Shunpo while in her cat form, however, she is not as fast as she is in her true form. * Utsusemi (空蝉, Cicada, referencing their molting): Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō. It allows for movement at great speed, leaving at least one tangible after-image behind.125 Byakuya Kuchiki states Yoruichi taught it to him.126 Enhanced Strength: Despite her slender appearance, Yoruichi is quite strong in her Shinigami form. She could still easily use Shunpo while carrying around an unconscious Ichigo to outrun a fellow Shunpo Master.123 She easily caught a direct punch from Yammy Llargo, and simultaneously threw him several feet away. She easily injured him, despite his thick Hierro, with various unarmed moves, but it was later revealed she was injured by his Hierro. Though she admitted she wasn't expecting his skin to be that hard, she states she could have avoided taking any damage if she had Shunkō activated.12782 A concentrated blow from Yoruichi can destroy an entire city block.128 Enhanced Endurance: Despite her own admission of being out of shape, Yoruichi is a very resilient warrior. Both when out of breath from prolonged running against Byakuya and sustaining fractures from Yammy's Hierro, Yoruichi was still able to fight effectively while showing no signs of weakening.129130131 Master Assassin: As the former Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi is one of the foremost masters of the art of assassination. She has repeatedly shown impressive skill in staying hidden and unseen. When necessary, she can effectively exploit having an advantage against an opponent or hiding her presence. Even Aizen was taken completely by surprise, and just as easily subdued. Master Strategist: As the former head of her clan and ex-commander of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi is a capable leader. She has repeatedly proven to be insightful and crafty, capable of quickly understanding any situation that presents itself and adjusting to it effectively. Upon learning Ichigo would go to save Rukia no matter what, Yoruichi began making preparations of her own by training Orihime and Chad. Kidō Expert: As former captain of the 2nd Division and the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, Yoruichi is well-versed inKidō. Though she commonly employs Shunpo and hand-to-hand fighting techniques, she is masterful in using Kidō to further her capacity in combat, often mixing it with other fighting techniques. She has used mid to high-level binding and destruction spells with no incantation with expert skill.9497 Her skill is great enough to almost effortlessly learn variations of Kidō with only simple instructions.132 * Hanki (反鬼, Reverse Demon): This technique is used by Yoruichi during Shunkō. It nullifies an opponent's Kidō by hitting it with a Kidō of perfectly opposite speed and energy. The technique can neutralize an opponent's movements.133 Immense Spiritual Power: As a former captain and head of a noble clan, Yoruichi boasts a larger than normal amount of spiritual energy. During Ichigo's Bankai Training, she kept the Tenshintai active for an extended period of time with her Reiryoku.134 The reputation of her power is enough to make 4th Espada Ulquiorra Cifer wary to engage in combat with her, even with the help of 0 Espada Yammy Llargo.135 Her spiritual energy and control of it is great enough to act as a shield from fairly powerful attacks, as seen from blocking Jin Kariya's lightning blast with a single hand. While using Shunkō, her concentrated spiritual power becomes far greater than normal.70 ZanpakutōEdit As a former captain of the Gotei 13, it is known that Yoruichi possesses a Zanpakutō and has achieved Bankai, but she relies nearly exclusively on Hohō and Hakuda. Although she doesn't carry it at all in the current time, she wore it in the past. It resembles a kodachi or wakizashi''which she kept sheathed horizontally behind her on her lower back, similar to how Suì-Fēngcarries hers in the present day.13 * '''Shikai': Not Yet Revealed * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed Appearances in Other MediaEdit Yoruichi has appeared in many games as a playable character. In Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, she is capable of using both Shunkō and Shunshinraijin (瞬神雷神, lit. "Flashing Lightning God"), as well as using other Kidō, such as Byakurai, and is a Speed-type character. In Bleach: Soul Carnival, she has a technique called Shunretsugeki (瞬烈撃, Flashing Fierce Strike). She appears again inBleach: Soul Resurrección in her arm and leg armor that she used against Aizen. In this game, Yoruichi can use Musō Renbu(無双連舞, Matchless Serial Dance), where she unleashes a barrage of rapid punches against her opponent, and Shunkō Raigeki (瞬閧雷撃, Flash Cry Thunder Strike), where she generates a javelin of white energy before throwing it at her opponent. TriviaEdit * On the Popularity polls, Yoruichi came in 15th place on the first popularity poll. She placed 19th in the second poll, 7th in the third poll, and 28th in the fourth poll. * Yoruichi has a tribal tattoo on the outside of her left thigh, which was based on a picture of her drawn by Tite Kubo in Volume 26. * In the 19th edition of Tedious Everyday Tales Colorful Bleach, Yoruichi is colored with purple eyes.136 In the following releases, however, her eyes are golden again. * In the Bleach best bout poll, Yoruichi's fight with Suì-Fēng came in ninth place.137